How to Replace the Drive Belt on a Maytag Washer

The drive belt transfers motor power to the transmission and tub; when it stretches, glazes, or snaps, the motor still hums but the tub sits dead. Sometimes you will smell hot rubber from a slipping belt before it fails outright. Because a worn belt and a failed motor coupling look identical from the lid — motor runs, tub does not move — you inspect both while the machine is open so you fix the real cause once.

It helps to know the two ways this drive setup fails so you recognize each on sight. A belt fails gradually: it glazes hard and shiny, stretches until it slips, then finally cracks or jumps off the pulleys, and a slipping belt usually gives a hot-rubber smell and a weakly spinning tub before it quits outright. A motor coupling fails differently — the rubber-and-plastic spider linking the motor to the transmission crumbles, so the motor spins freely while the tub does nothing at all, with no smell and no partial motion. Spotting which pattern you have before the cabinet is even open tells you which part to have ready.

Tools and parts#

Have a Phillips #2 screwdriver, a putty knife, a 7/16-inch socket, and an adjustable wrench. For the part, order the replacement drive belt for your Maytag model.

Replace the belt#

1. Access the drive system. Unplug the machine and shut the water, then open the cabinet — the putty knife releases the spring clips on many top-load cabinets — so you can reach the belt around the motor and transmission pulleys underneath.
2. Release belt tension. Loosen the motor's mounting or the idler so the belt goes slack; note how the belt wraps the pulleys before you take it off, since the routing has to go back exactly.
3. Remove the old belt. Slip the slack belt off the pulleys and out of the cabinet. Inspect the motor coupling while it is exposed — a chewed or crumbled coupling causes the same no-spin symptom and is cheap to replace at the same time.
4. Install the new belt. Loop the new belt onto the transmission pulley first, then work it onto the motor pulley, following the routing you noted so it seats in every groove.
5. Verify rotation. Turn the pulley by hand to confirm the belt tracks true and the tub responds, then set the motor or idler to give firm tension — snug enough not to slip, loose enough not to howl.
6. Reassemble. Close the cabinet, restore power and water, and run a short cycle, watching that the tub agitates and spins without slipping or squealing. Give it a full wash-and-spin rather than a quick pulse, since a belt that seats fine cold can still slip once a wet, heavy load bears down on it.

When to call a pro#

If a new belt with correct tension still will not drive the tub, the transmission or the motor itself may be at fault, which is a heavier repair worth pricing against the machine's value. A burning smell or a locked tub that will not turn by hand also points past the belt.

Need professional help?#

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